Mending
by WithTheFlow
Summary: Troy and Gabriella used to like each other, until one night, Troy ruins it all with his cocky attitude. It takes up until his senior year to realize that he had made a mistake, and that he wants Gabriella back. But with time running out, will he do it?
1. The Night

**Here is another one for you. **

**Disclaimer: _I do not own any High School Musical characters or the series. I only own the plot._**

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Troy went to sleep last night as a Junior on vacation - this morning, he woke up a Senior in high school.

His feelings were heavily mixed. On one hand, he was happy that he got a chance to go back to school to see his friends. Of course, he had been seeing and spending time with his basketball buddies over the summer, but Troy wanted to see all the other friends that he had made in school during his previous years. He was definitely a social person; he could not stand to be alone. He always wanted to be in the presence of someone he enjoyed talking to. Not only was he excited to go to school because of his friends, but he was going to get another shot at the state championship this year. He had been preparing over the summer along with his teammates, and felt that they had a strong chance this year.

But on the other hand, it was another year of homework, tests, and assholes that called themselves teachers that Troy had to deal with again. He was glad that this was his last year of high school; he wanted to graduate, then attend college. He would try to pursue a career playing professional basketball afterwards. The thought of having to endure another year of high school caused Troy to run a trembling hand through his hair in stress and frustration. With a slight sigh, he swung his legs over his bed and went off into his bathroom, starting his morning rituals, which included showering and brushing his teeth.

On the other side of the neighborhood, a sweet girl's eyes had just fluttered open to the sunlight that streamed through her blinds. Gabriella Montez turned gracefully in bed and took a quick glance at the clock. It was finally time to start school again. Gabriella could barely hold her excitement, and if she wasn't so freshly awoken, she probably would have been prancing around her room at the moment. Gabriella slowly picked herself out of bed and stretched. Her books were neatly organized on her desk, ready to be picked up and placed in her backpack. She shuffled over to her bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror with a smile. She was a senior now. Top of the school. It was time to act like it.

Gabriella, however, also had mixed feelings about returning to school. She was excited for the classes; she couldn't wait to see what she would be learning this year. She had requested specific teachers, who had more than gladly agreed to teach the intelligent girl. In result, Gabriella wouldn't have to deal with unqualified teachers this year, as she had to get around last year. Gabriella grabbed her toothbrush and wet it under the running water, then squeezed out a bit of toothpaste from the tube unto the brush. She stuck it in her mouth and began to brush her teeth. Although she had positive excitement welling up inside her, one person stuck out in her mind. That one person she couldn't forget.

_Troy Bolton._

When Gabriella first entered the school as a Sophomore, the two had quickly began a friendship. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Troy, and at times, she felt like Troy shared mutual feelings. Gabriella had nothing to worry about in school in her Sophomore year, mainly because Troy practically ruled the school. No one dared to bother Gabriella on account of her relationship with Troy. Many nights were spent together, her tutoring the boy, and the boy taking her out to restaurants and for ice cream. Although they never officially went out, the two were basically all over each other. Gabriella had never felt like she needed Troy to officially be her boyfriend; she felt like he already was just by being with her. Gabriella had a great Sophomore year, but after losing touch with Troy over the summer, things turned to shit in her Junior year.

As Gabriella entered her shower, she specifically remembered how she had felt the morning of her first day of eleventh grade. She was excited for school, but she actually really wanted to see Troy. She had missed him over the summer, but for some reason, never had really bothered to call him or anything. Troy never called her either. They had run into each other at the grocery store once, where they had at first shared awkward greetings, but the day turned out well. It ended up with Troy taking her to Starbucks for a drink. They had caught up with each other, and that was when Gabriella was reminded of her attraction to Troy. But the two never met up again afterwards.

Entering school on the first day of eleventh grade, Gabriella recalled her eyes looking for the familiar figure - the perfect chestnut hair and the beautiful blue eyes. She had found him, and the two made eye contact. It was when Troy pulled her in for a hug that she had realized something was different. He was more...aggressive. He had grabbed parts of her body where he had never dared to go near before. He had held her for longer than usual, which turned a little bit awkward. And following the hug, Troy had flung his arm over Gabriella and pulled her around school. Naturally, she was a little bit confused at first, but at the same time, enjoyed the feeling of being with Troy again. But as time progressed, Troy became cockier and cockier with being around Gabriella, which one day resulted with Troy's hand cupping Gabriella's bottom during a hug.

Not only was Gabriella offended, but she was scared. What had happened to Troy? Gabriella had started to slowly ignore Troy afterwards, and in one case, denied a hug. Troy almost immediately caught the hint that something was wrong, and had tried many times to talk to Gabriella to find out why she was acting so weird. Gabriella finally gave in one day and confessed to Troy why she was acting like she was; Troy's response was what broke the very thin string that they called their relationship.

_"I don't know what happened to you, Troy, but I'm not sure if I really like you anymore," said Gabriella, keeping her distance away from Troy. It was a dark night, despite the fullness of the moon and the vast number of stars that littered the sky. Troy's face had turned from concerned into confused, then into slightly aggravated expression._

_"Why? What the hell did I do to you?" said Troy, anger rising in his voice. Gabriella swallowed hard; this was exactly what she tried to avoid - a fight. She lowered her voice to lower the tension in the area. Biting her bottom lip, she turned away from Troy and looked to the ground._

_"It wasn't just one event, Troy. It was the whole year. Ever since the beginning. You've not been yourself," replied Gabriella. She saw Troy's body shift positions as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But to Gabriella's surprise, the male voice that pierced the night wasn't annoyance or anger - it was slight amusement._

_"It's because I grabbed your ass, right?" asked Troy, a smirk creeping on his face. Gabriella couldn't help but to blush hard. The truth was that Troy's little offense played a big part in the situation, but she couldn't admit it. Not here. Not to Troy. It was too embarrassing._

_"Troy," said Gabriella, still looking at the ground. "I told you, it's not because of just one event. You've changed as a person - you've changed into someone that I don't want you to be." _

_"Don't give me all of this, movie-sap talk, Gabriella. This isn't a fucking chick-flick. Just tell me how I can make it up to you, and lets call it over," said Troy, the aggravation in his voice returning. _

_"See, Troy? See? You would have __**never**__ said that last year."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"Because I knew you last year."_

_"Well, obviously, you didn't know me enough," said Troy, standing up and brushing his pants. "C'mon, I'll take you home. It's getting late; we can talk about this some other time."_

_"I can walk home," replied Gabriella._

_"What?" Troy said coldly after a second of silence.  
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_"I said I can walk," she repeated. Her voice was starting to quiver._

_"It's almost midnight. You're gonna get raped," replied Troy, casually._

_"Don't say that."_

_"Are you going to keep acting like a baby, or are you going to get up? I really don't want to force you into my car. It's not going to look or sound right for the people that live around here," said Troy, huffing slightly. Gabriella shook her head. She wanted to cry. Why couldn't Troy be the sensitive boy that he used to be?_

_"Thanks, but...no thanks." Gabriella stood up and brushed off her bottom, and started to walk towards the other direction. But as she took her first few steps, a strong hand reached out and grabbed her thin arm. Troy pulled her back hard, nearly causing Gabriella to lose her balance and fall over. She looked up into Troy's eyes with fear. His eyes were cold and grey like a Winter's morning. It was the first time in a while that she didn't want to be so close to Troy. His face had changed too; it had used to be soft, but now...it was like a rock. No emotion. No sympathy. Nothing. It was just a good-looking face with nothing beyond it._

_"Don't be stupid," said Troy. "Come with me, or I'll make you."_

_"Get your hand off of me, Troy," Gabriella said. She tried to sound stern and demanding, but her voice came off weak and unwilled. Troy loosened his grip, but didn't let go. _

_"You still haven't explained to me what 'events' led to you acting this way, but its pissing me off and I don't want to hear it. I'm not going to let you walk home by yourself, so don't even try." Troy tightened his grip on Gabriella's arm to the point of pain. He dragged her towards his car, and Gabriella resisted with all her weight and strength. The truth was, Gabriella's fragile body was no match for an athlete's physique. Troy was faster, stronger, and more athletic than her. She wouldn't be able to escape from his grip by force. So she did the only thing that she could do at the moment._

_She slapped him._

_Troy's face fell from a look of determination to an extremely confused and sad one. He had loosened his grip on Gabriella's arm almost to the point of letting go. Gabriella wrenched her arm out of Troy's hand with the strength she could muster; to tell the truth, she was scared out of her mind at the moment, and was on the verge of crying. She believed she was free to go when she was able to turn around without any interruption from Troy, but her heart fell as she felt a painful grip on her wrist. Troy jerked Gabriella whole figure back towards him, causing her minor whiplash. He was angry. His eyes were burning like fire. He pulled Gabriella right up to his face, and talked in a very low, whisper-like tone, with every word seething through his teeth._

_"I don't know why the fuck you just slapped me, Montez, but I'm warning you: pull that shit again, and I swear I'll make the remaining years you have in high school worse then hell." Troy stared into her eyes, meaning every word that escaped through his lips at the moment._

_"I'm not scared of you, Bolton," replied Gabriella, mustering up all her courage to stare Troy right back in his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he violently released Gabriella's hand and walked towards his truck and sped home. It took a couple of seconds for Gabriella's brain to register what had just happened, but when the wave of realization had hit her, she couldn't stop herself from breaking down and crying. _

_They were done. _

Troy knew he had fucked it up that night at the park.

He couldn't believe what came out of his mouth that night. It was all the anger, confusion, and frustration that had built up inside of him on account of Gabriella ignoring him; that was the reason he had threatened Gabriella that night. The truth was, he couldn't mess up Gabriella's high school life even if he wanted to. It may not seem like it to her, but he just wasn't that kind of person. He didn't know why he had said what he said that night, and he regretted every single syllable of what came out of his mouth. Troy knew he was an asshole in the eleventh grade; he was just so cocky because he felt like he had a girl to call his own. She was beautiful too, and not to mention smart. Any boy would die to have a girl like that. No boy would ever be stupid enough to ruin something like what Gabriella and Troy had. Troy cursed himself day after day from that night; he wanted to hire someone to beat the living shit out of him. Every time he had the slightest memory of that night...every time his brain recollected the events at the park...

He died a little bit inside.

But it wasn't like Troy to leave things be. Ever since he was young, he had always looked to fix thing in the future rather than to sulk over something that occurred in the past. He knew that he wanted Gabriella back; he wanted another shot with her. The truth was, Troy was in love with Gabriella in the past. And he ruined it in one night. A year and a half of building a relationship with her was completely broken down in an hour. Even though Troy knew that this was going to be a long shot, and that his efforts may just be in vain, he knew that he had to try. He had only one year to warm Gabriella's heart back towards him. Time was against him. But he wouldn't give up. He had decided that morning, after stepping out wet from his shower, that he wouldn't spend the year worrying about college or praying for a championship. He had something more important in mind.

And her name was Gabriella Montez.


	2. Invitation

**A/N: I hope you enjoy this one. Not much action, I'm sorry! Read & Review please!**

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Troy felt his face flush with anger.

Across the cafeteria, Gabriella sat down at her lunch table, eating with her friends. Nothing out of the usual, except that Gabriella was actually eating lunch. She usually spent the lunch hour in the library, but since it was the first day of school, she had absolutely no work to push. But that wasn't the reason why Troy was angry. Troy's face had flushed when Collin Rosenhoff had entered the cafeteria and invited himself to sit at Gabriella's table, right next to Gabriella, after playfully demanding a long hug. Troy scoffed and looked back down at his lunch, which seemed much less appetizing now. He couldn't get the image of Gabriella and Collin out of his head; the scene replayed in his brain over and over again.

Sure, Troy didn't mind if Gabriella had other guy friends. It was just _Collin_ that made him angry. Troy and Collin had a very unfriendly history together, ranging back to Kindergarten, where Collin would always lie about Troy doing something bad, forcing the innocent blue-eyed child to give his toy up to Collin. Then in the first grade, Collin had intentionally spilled chocolate milk all over Troy's new lunchbox, and in the second grade, Collin had "accidentally" placed Troy's drawing into the class paper shredder. In the third grade, when Collin and Troy started playing ball together, the two had fought at almost every practice, and in the fourth grade...the list went on and on. The bottom line was that Collin and Troy wasn't a good pair to put in a room alone. And now that Collin was even around Gabriella made Troy feel like exploding right then and there.

Collin had played the "cushion guy" last year after Troy had stupidly ruined the relationship he had with Gabriella. Whenever Troy turned around, Collin was there with Gabriella. He was constantly making her laugh, inviting her to watch movies with him and his friends, offering up his lunch when Gabriella didn't have one...it made Troy sick. To a person that didn't know Collin, he may sound like the stereotypical "bounce-back-on-me" movie character, but to Troy, Collin wasn't. Troy knew that Collin had his ways of getting things he wanted, a skill that Collin had ever since he was a young boy. Troy had overheard Collin many times last year talking about how Gabriella was just a friend, and when he stepped outside of the locker room, he would drape all over her like a fucking curtain. Even if Troy didn't know exactly what Collin's motives were, he knew he was up to no good.

Troy watched from the corner of his eye as Collin talked to Gabriella, sending flirtatious gestures in her direction. Troy bit his bottom lip hard as Collin laughed and put his hand on Gabriella's arm, and nearly drew blood from his tongue's fleshy texture when Gabriella laughed in response. Sighing heavily, he turned his back on the two and looked over his lunch table, which was filled with his teammates. The team was carrying on random conversations about their experiences over the summer, including Zeke's new special recipe. But, as Troy glanced around the table, he had caught Chad's eyes, who was looking at him with a serious look. Troy quickly looked away, afraid that Chad may know what Troy was thinking.

"Truthfully, Troy," started Chad when Troy looked away, "I would beat the shit out of him." Troy looked up at Chad. Did he actually understand what he was going through? Troy was surprised that Chad had such intelligence to analyze and perceive; he had always thought Chad as academically challenged. But from time to time, Chad had been successful on impressing his peers with random insights of knowledge.

Chad's relationship with Gabriella was hard to explain. The two were extremely close friends, but it seemed as if they were torn apart because of Troy. Troy didn't want that to happen; he wanted them to remain close friends, but there was a level and a standard that would be broken if Chad continued to hang out with Gabriella. Troy also had to admit; he wouldn't take it too fondly if Chad still took Gabriella out for ice cream. Not that he would be jealous...it would just be weird. Troy knew that Chad was still bitter about what he did to Gabriella. Even though Chad had lost a level of respect for Troy, the two had been friends for ages now, and nothing could break their bond.

"But," continued Chad, the serious look remaining on his face, "it was your fault."

Troy sighed heavily and looked back down at his food. Chad was right. If Troy hadn't been such a fucking loser last year, none of this would be happening. He would be sitting with Gabriella right now, with _his_ hand on her shoulder, and with _his_ jokes making her laugh. Troy couldn't bear to hear Gabriella's voice anymore; it was like a knife cutting through his heart. Troy inhaled softly as he turned his shoulder again to look back over at Gabriella's table, when he caught eyes of the beautiful chocolate eyes he was in love with.

Troy's heart nearly stopped. It felt like the cafeteria had gone silent, and had been covered in mist. His vision clouded until he could only see one person in his line of sight; Gabriella. The two had exchanged a look - not a long one in reality, but one that lasted forever for Troy. He felt his body tense up and get extremely warm. He tried to rip his gaze away from Gabriella, but he couldn't. His eyes were locked. However, Gabriella seemed to have no problem looking back down at her food with an unreadable look, then back up to her friends who had cracked another joke. It took Troy a second to realize who was coming over.

"Troy!" said Collin, slapping Troy on his back. Troy had coughed up the strawberry milk he was drinking; a sweet liquid mixed in with bits of salad flooded his mouth. Troy ignored the predicament and swallowed the remnants in his mouth back down before looking up at the face of the devil. Troy's devil.

"Collin," replied Troy, his voice nowhere near the level of enthusiasm that Collin's voice possessed. However, Collin did not pick up the hint that Troy was relaying. Instead, he greeted the rest of the basketball team, and looked over at Chad, who tried to keep a good face on. But not too good though; Troy was watching.

"Workouts today, right?" asked Collin, nodding at Chad. Chad nodded back with a smile, and glanced over at Troy, who was having an intense staring contest with his lunch. Chad watched as Collin left the cafeteria through the double doors at the end of the enormous lunchroom. Troy shot Chad a deathly look, who shrugged innocently. Sighing, Troy picked up his bag and left the lunchroom as the bell rang, signaling to students that it was time to return to class.

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Gabriella had a free period on her schedule, most likely coming from the extra courses she took over the past summer. She didn't expect to get a free period, however, and definitely didn't know what to do with it. She could try to go to the library and catch up on whatever she needed to do, but unfortunately due to the fact that school had just started and no work was given out, Gabriella was left with a period of complete nothingness.

Her legs subconsciously started moving towards the library while her mind was focusing on the unbelievably awkward glance she had exchanged with Troy today in the lunchroom. Why was he looking at her in the first place? She had remembered taking a bite out of her lunch, then looking up to match orbs with him. She had broke the gaze almost immediately, but the damage had been done. The two had locked eyes for the first time in a long while. Gabriella, although she tried to deny it, couldn't avoid the slightly warm feeling that she got when she stared into Troy's soft, caring blue eyes. But her warm streak cooled down when she thought of the night.

Shaking her head, she walked into the library. Immediately, the mouths of librarians curled into a smile upon seeing the familiar face. Gabriella greeted the librarians, then took her favorite seat in the corner of the library. She propped open a book, hoping that the hour would pass quickly, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. As Gabriella turned around, a bright smile greeted her, and she got a warm feeling inside; the same feeling that she used to get with Troy when he looked at her. Gabriella stood up and gave Collin a silent hug, and gestured for him to sit down at the table.

"What're you reading?" asked Collin, taking a seat across from Gabriella. Gabriella shrugged; honestly, she hadn't been reading anything. She just plucked out a random book from the shelves and propped it open.

"I don't really know, actually," replied Gabriella. She flipped the book over so the cover faced upwards, then blushed at the title. It read - _A Man's Brain: Psychological Studies of the Male Mind. _Gabriella timidly scratched the back of her neck, not daring to look up at Collin, afraid that he may get the wrong impression. She heard a small laugh across from her, and her face blushed harder. Out of all the books in the library, she had to just grab this one. With a sigh, she cleverly slipped the book off the table and attempted to change the subject.

"What brings you to the library, Collin?" Gabriella asked, resting her head on her palm.

"Well, it's my free period," replied Collin, leaning back in his chair.

"Really? Mine too!" exclaimed Gabriella. She was glad to have a free period with him.

"Exciting!" said Collin. But it seemed as though he wasn't interested in having small talk with Gabriella. His face turned innocent and sweet, and Collin's eyes penetrated Gabriella's with a tremendous force, just like Troy's used to. Collin took a deep breath and cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Gabriella, there's a back to school party tonight. Why don't you and I go?" asked Collin.

Gabriella's muscles tensed up as she quickly tried to think up an excuse to make. Biting her lip, she looked into Collin's eyes, which looked so innocent and hopeful. Gabriella looked into her mind, and pulled out something that she knew wasn't going to work.

"Oh, uh," started Gabriella, "thanks for the offer, but I'm really not into parties..."

"It's not anything like that," said Collin, "I assure you. No drugs, no alcohol, no sex...just a regular party, with music, dancing, chips, and soda." Gabriella shrugged and avoided looking into Collin's eyes again. She was going to melt if she looked in those dark brown eyes of his again.

"I'm...I'm busy tonight," Gabriella lied.

"It's okay if you don't want to go with me," said Collin, his voice lowering into a heart-broken tone. Gabriella quickly shook her head to signify that it wasn't like that.

"No, no," she said, "it's me. I...I..." Gabriella bit her bottom lip as she fell into the gaze of Collin's eyes once more. "Alright, Collin. I'll do it. I'll go with you. But I want to be home by ten."

Collin nodded ecstatically and stood up. He walked over to where Gabriella was and pulled her into a big hug, then walked off out of the library. Gabriella placed her head in her hands and rubbed her temples, afraid of what she had just gotten herself into. Taking a deep breath, she propped open the book she had attempted to hide from Collin earlier, and began reading silently to herself.


End file.
